Eric sat and stared at the door to Julie’s room. Her parents and Dr. Tachibana had gone inside, and he could only imagine what they were discussing. Everyone kept saying he shouldn’t feel guilty, or responsible for anything that had happened. But that was rather like telling someone not to think about an elephant. Just makes you think about elephants even more.
In Eric’s case, he just felt more guilty. He decisions, whether it be about Julie or Cassie, had only caused everyone else headaches and grief. Martin had enough on his plate with Julie. And now, thanks to Eric, he could add a Statue 2B to the list of crisis he needed to deal with.
“Eric?” Ben Twist had walked over to where Eric was standing. He regarded Ben with a nod, but didn’t take his eyes off the door.
“Look, I know you’re feeling pretty crappy right now, and…”
“Ben I appreciate the gesture, but I’m really not in the mood for a pep talk.” Eric said.
“Fair enough. But I was going to suggest we all go home and get some rest. Julie’s not going to get better overnight, and there’s nothing anyone can do until the Stovalls make up their minds in regards to treatment.” Ben said.
Ben was right, Eric hated to admit it but he was. Eric wanted to stay there until he knew that Julie was back to normal (relatively speaking), and out of his fur. He wanted to move on, continue dreaming about his future with Cassie, but Julie kept pulling him back to her side. Eric needed space, and he certainly wasn’t going to get it by wasting the night in the hospital stewing.
He and Ben walked to their mothers, who also appeared to be at the end of their rope. It was late, and for the second night in a row, they’d all had a stressful evening. No one objected when Ben suggested they go home for the night. Martha took the boys downstairs, while Samantha and Frances waited so they could speak to their respective colleagues.
Frances only lingered to hear what Tachibana had to say. The Stovalls were still with their daughter, but Tachibana had left and was currently discussing something with one of the nurses.
“Is everything alright?” Frances asked as she approached the desk.
“I’d say things are moving in the right direction. Julie’s parents are trying to convince her that surgery is the best solution to her problem. She doesn’t fully understand what has happened of course, but she knows things are pretty serious.” Tachibana said.
“And if she does agree?”
“She’ll have to go to Seattle for the operation, but it could be as early as Tuesday morning. But what she’ll be like when she comes out remains to be seen. Julie Stovall will either remain as she is, or revert to her previous state of sanity. Either way, you’ll have your work cut out for you Dr. Twist. Assuming her parents decide to employ you to treat their daughter.”
“I don’t know if they will, but I’ve got a few colleagues who would be more than capable of treating Julie. All were friendly, if not weres themselves.” Frances added. Julie seeing a normal therapist was out of the question, since the majority of her problem was were-related.
“Well, I suggest we all go home and get some rest. Julie has calmed down, her vital signs are stable, and there’s nothing more we can do until the Stovalls reach a decision.” Tachibana was glad the night was finally over. The past thirty six hours had been extremely trying. Even more so for Julie and the object of her affection, who clearly did no reciprocate her feelings.
Frances looked over her shoulder, and saw Samantha was waiting for Martin. She decided it would be best if she let them talk alone, and walked to the elevator. Ben, Martha and Eric had already gone down, and Frances was eager to head home and sleep.
--------------------------------------------------
Martin was well aware that Samantha was standing outside the room, obviously wanting to discuss the normal situation she’d texted him about earlier. The two had planned to discuss the matter in the morning, but seeing as they were both already here…
“I’ll be right back.” Martin said. He’d already told Melissa what was going on, but they both agreed to keep Julie in the dark to spare her any added confusion or stress. Melissa was sitting beside her daughter’s bed, lovingly stroking her hair.
Samantha waited until Martin shut the door, to ask him how he was.
“Stressed, that’s for sure. But if we don’t deal with the problems at hand, they won’t go away. So, tell me about this Statue 2B case. You said Eric and Cassie O’Sullivan were involved somehow?”
Samantha recounted the events as Eric and Cassie had told her. Skipping over a few of the more intimate details, but sticking to the basic story.
The two werewolves had been at the lake’s edge. A normal, who had been in the area earlier to take photographs of the wildlife, had set up camp a few yards away. The girl, a college student from the University of Oregon, heard the pair howling and got up to investigate. And the rest was fairly self explanatory.
“What a mess. Neither party did anything wrong. Wrong place, wrong time situation.” Martin sighed.
“All the same though, what are we going to do? Either we turn her, or… the alternative. Both of which seem fairly drastic considering she just let her curiosity get the better of her.”
“God forbid the photos get out, do you think they could do any serious damage?”
“A skilled editor could enhance them and that would be the end of us.” Samantha said grimly. While on the surface, the images seemed too dark to for anyone to be able to see the two werewolves, Samantha knew modern technology was more than capable of enhancing them. A few minutes in photoshop, and one upload to the internet, and Moon Lake would be no more.
“I’ll think it over, but for now how long CAN we hold her?” Martin asked.
“We’d need to arraign her by Monday afternoon. But the most she’ll get is a fine and a slap on the wrist.”
“You don’t suppose there’s a chance she’ll be open to the idea of weres, and becoming one?”
“I don’t know. I could ask Frances to speak to her, and see what she can get from the girl. Maybe that love of wildlife is transferable.” Samantha shrugged.
“Alright. Thank you Samantha. And thank your wife for me too. For everything she’s done, and will do.” Martin wasn’t talking about the normal now. He was talking about Julie. Samantha smiled and assured him she would pass on the kind words.
And then, as soon as Martin had slipped back into his daughter’s room, she made a beeline for the elevator to join her family and neighbors. After today, Samantha wanted nothing more than to sleep. Maybe forever.